Embargo Violations In Somalia Investigated
BRUSSELS, 11 APRIL 2003--Recognizing the important need to improve the implementation and monitoring of the arms embargo against Somalia, the United Nations Security Council this week re-established for six months a panel of experts to investigate any violations of the ban.

The decision to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts, to be based in Kenya, came after the Council considered a report submitted last month by the three-person panel stating that even after the signing of the Eldoret Declaration, most factions have continued to import or receive weapons in breach of the arms embargo against Somalia. Somali leaders who participated in last year's conference in Eldoret, Kenya, had rededicated themselves to the search for peace.

By unanimously adopting resolution 1474, the Council mandated the Panel to investigate the violations of the arms embargo, covering access to Somalia by land, air, sea and any other sources that might reveal helpful information.